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San Antonio bioscience-healthcare sector thriving

Today’s announcement that San Antonio’s first bioscience success story plans to expand its research capabilities brings fresh evidence of the vitality of our bioscience-healthcare sector. Already one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to scientific discovery, the institution formerly known as the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research has set its sights higher.

Texas Biomedical Research Institute, the new name announced today, plans to add 93,000 square feet of new research space and 10 new faculty members in the Genetics and Virology & Immunology Departments and the Southwest National Primate Research Center.

Now nicknamed Texas Biomed, the Institute paved the way for San Antonio’s more than $19 billion bioscience/healthcare sector, which employs one of every six San Antonians. The Department of Defense’s ongoing consolidation of military medical training in San Antonio will add thousands more professionals here and bolster our research foundation, such as the types done at Texas Biomed, the University of Texas at San Antonio and the UT Health Science Center.

Texas Biomed, founded in 1941 by philanthropist Thomas Slick Jr., has a legacy of excellence in research. That includes advancing the hepatitis B vaccine given to children worldwide, refining treatments for premature babies, ongoing research on AIDS, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and illnesses found in the developing world, as well as critical research in the nation’s battle against bioterrorism. Texas Biomed has the nation’s only privately operated biosafety level-4 lab for studying diseases with no treatment or cure, the world’s largest group of computers working in parallel for genetic analysis, and its valuable animal models.

The presence of a strong research community played an important role in our ability to attract new companies in recent years, including medical technology leaders Becton, Dickinson and Co. and Medtronic Inc.

With its plans to invest further in facilities and faculty, Texas Biomed strengthens San Antonio’s image as a leader in the biosciences and creates new opportunities for our community to prosper in the economy of the future.